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Tattoo Of Handgun Triggers Call To Police

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene.

Michael Smith, of Norridgewock, Maine, has a really convincing tattoo of a handgun on his lower stomach. This week, he woke up to a crew cutting trees outside. He marched out to tell them to stop with his shirt off. A bit later he woke up again, to a SWAT team with rifles trained. The tree cutters had mistaken his tattoo for a real gun tucked in his belt.

Smith told the police, quote, "I got plans today. I don't want to get shot." He was not charged.

You're listening to MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

David Greene is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author. He is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, the most listened-to radio news program in the United States, and also of NPR's popular morning news podcast, Up First.
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